Monday, September 19, 2005
FRENCH BENCHER
An unnamed, but wonderful, columnist in the Fiji Times:
Dear, oh dear, Ive seen some disastrous political implosions in my 50 plus years in journalism but the current one which is slowly but surely eroding the popularity polls of the once proud Australian Labor Party.
All thanks to its former leader Mark Latham and his controversial diaries of the year and a little bit he served as party leader in 2004/05 which will be published in book on Wednesday.
Parts of the book which has been released in dribs and drabs over the last week in the Daily Telegraph has named certain senior ALP members like current party Kim Beasley and french bencher Kevin Rudd.
Mr Latham, 43, described parliamentarians Labors sex-obsessed, sick puppies and denied being mad or assaulting his first wife.
He has done this to try and win back some of the popularity and support that he had lost recently through.
Mr Beasley said he had intended suing Mr Latham but withdrew this direction saying that if he did that it would make him a martyr. He also denied attacking his first wife and he also denied being mad.
Mr Latham through my own observations of what he said publicly was that he was a loser from the beginning. In the beginning he had something to say but as time went on he said less and less and finally he said nothing.
Mr Latham had an opportunity to win last years general election but squandered the opportunity by not saying much.
That was another point why I couldnt support what he said in parliament because he would criticise a government proposal but wouldnt have anything to offer or a written motion to counter the proposal.
He was quite active in the beginning but ran out of ideas towards the end and had nothing to say towards the end. Resignation was the easy way out feigning illness and he chose that path.
Meanwhile, for someone now cheerfully out of work, Latham is oddly given to work-themed insults:
* Kevin Rudd is “a terrible piece of work.”
* The opposition french bencher is also “a leaking treacherous piece of work.”
* Janette Howard is “a nasty piece of work.”
* Deputy Labor leader Jenny Macklin is “an unbelievable piece of work.”
* And Senator Robert Ray is also “a nasty piece of work.”